1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of inertial measurement and accelerometer devices.
More specifically, the invention relates to an inertial sensor that employs a nano-resonator transduction mechanism that produces, in its native form, a high frequency output signal (MHz) and whose change in output frequency is proportional to change in angular rate in a micro-gyroscope or linear acceleration in an accelerometer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Military applications have a need for low power, micro-scale inertial sensor technology for applications in guidance and control of precision munitions.
Existing inertial rotation and acceleration sensors face a number of challenges to mass fielding. These challenges include high unit cost, low survival rate in high-G firing acceleration, reliance on the GPS to achieve accuracy and large volume power sources. To overcome these challenges, an objective is to develop an accurate inertial sensor that achieves required accuracy without the use of GPS, that it be produced at low cost (<$1000), that it operate using low power (<4 Watts), that it survive high acceleration (20,000 G), and that it be suitable for integration into munitions in mass production.
Micro-inertial sensors such as those made using micro-electro-mechanical systems (“MEMS”) technology have been widely used in a broad spectrum of applications due to the advantages of small size, low weight, low power, and batch semiconductor processing steps.
On one end of the spectrum, lower performance MEMS and quartz-based micro-gyros and accelerometers are produced in quantities of millions per month at a unit cost of less than about $10.00 for automotive control applications and less than about $2.00 for consumer electronics applications.
On the other end of the spectrum are the high-performance MUMS sensors produced for aerospace and military applications, which are very expensive and produced only in small quantities. While high performance MEMS inertial sensors provide unique capabilities to meet the stringent requirements of precision munitions, the low production volume (projected to be about 200,000 units over the next five years) presents a major challenge for sensor manufacturers, even at a unit cost of $1,000.
To address the issues of cost, sensitivity, power, and high acceleration, Applicant discloses a solution to the above deficiencies in the prior art which in, one embodiment, takes advantage of chip-scale integration that integrates six inertial sensors (three micro-gyroscopes for X-Y-Z axes of rotation and three accelerometers for X-Y-Z axes of acceleration) offering a three-axis rotation and acceleration measurement solution for meeting high performance applications such as military requirements for next generation precision munitions.